Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel.
This is what the Lord says:
“What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.
“Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the Lord. “And I will bring charges against your children’s children. Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this:
Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.
Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord. “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
We were roadblocked a number of times before we realized that this was where God was leading us today.
I liked the large wooden cross and was impressed with the screen placement, off to one side but visible to all. These were two things that impressed me when we last visited here 4+ years ago.
Something that surprised me when I re-read the blog of our visit in 2009 was that we were warmly greeted by numerous people and today only the pastors said hello.
I was glad to read that the prayer ministry continues. I remember also wearing a stole to identify myself for prayers; it was a most rewarding ministry.
This is an aesthetically pleasing facility, conducive to worship. The music included drums and piano by accomplished musicians.
We were blessed to be present for an elder ordination with the symbolic laying on of hands from the pews.
The Associate Pastor delivered the message on God’s lament from Jeremiah. She talked about our “yeah, buts”…wherever God is calling us to obey we always have “yeah, buts” and with this selfish need for control we are jilting God. She spoke of creating a thankfulness montage and I thought of so many ways that God has blessed me, cared for me, and rescued me. We can rely on God’s well of living water or the world’s cracked cistern that just doesn’t hold water.
I met three Marines or family members of Marines and had a chance to speak to the pastors after the service. I notice there are two worship times listed and perhaps we were not greeted thinking we were from the other service.
We arrived 15 minutes early at the church we planned to attend today and found the building closed up and absolutely no one around; we figured out right away that God wanted us elsewhere. After investigating several other churches in the area, we decided to drive until it was time to stop, and this was where it was time to stop.
As we entered we recalled our previous visit here (May 2009), but it was long enough ago that I, at least, recalled no details from that visit.
We found seats in the sanctuary; both pastors stopped by to welcome the two new faces, but no one else recognized us as visitors among this multi-service congregation.
I had to laugh when an announcement came on the screen about the Adult Education class for September called “Learn How to Listen to God.” After this morning I thought perhaps we should consider attending…
The bulletin was wonderfully user-friendly: one folded 11x17 sheet with all announcements on two 8½ x11 inserts.
The passion from the Director of Music on the piano and one man on drums set the tone for the music in the service. I could hear the enthusiasm in his voice as he encouraged the congregation to sing and then led with a strong but not overpowering voice.
There seem to be numerous small group and mission volunteer opportunities, and the prayer ministers, identifiable by their white stoles, are available to offer prayer.
The message, “God’s Well or Our Well?” was presented by the Associate Pastor of Program, Rev. Connie Frierson. She referred to the passage of Scripture as God’s lament, the voice of a lover asking, “What went wrong in our relationship?” and asking, “Do you remember?” She declared that we have jilted God by pushing Him out of our lives, preferring to find our own way instead of depending on Him and being open to His gracious plans for us.
She reminded the congregation of her love for movies, and mentioned the significance of a montage, that it is designed to communicate a character’s thoughts and feelings. She stated that we all have montages that revolve around our relationship with God. These montages consist of memories that remind us of times when we felt especially close to God or particularly blessed. She suggested that we develop “thankfulness montages” to help us recall those blessed times and renew our relationship with God.
She asserted that we all create cisterns where we develop our own plans for life and push God away. But God wants something better for us; He wants us to let go of our cisterns and move forward in His Living Water.
I found this message refreshing because she used examples from her own life experiences. And I love the idea of a “thankfulness montage” to remind me of God’s generous, amazing blessings in my life. I’m working on mine and I hope you have many memories to put in yours.
One more note, regarding the offertory…I would bet this is the first time “Playing Right Field” was presented in this context. The pastor mentioned that this church enjoys worship, and I do believe that is what we witnessed.
Lord, we pray that as this church is a praying and worshiping congregation, that they are also welcoming and outgoing to their community. We pray You continue to guide and bless their efforts. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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